Sheriff: Shots fired as burglary victim follows suspects in his car

KOMO STAFF

Published 2:02 pm, Sunday, July 1, 2012

Two women who allegedly burglarized a Poulsbo-area home then fired shots at the homeowner as he followed them from the scene have been arrested following a two-day investigation by the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.

The incident began Thursday afternoon when a 63-year-old Poulsbo man was driving past a home in the 21000 block of Bond Road Northeast that is owned by his family.

As he drove past, he spotted a gray Ford Taurus parked behind the house and three women removing items from the house. The man then pulled in and confronted the women about their presence on his family's property.

One of the women then stated that the property belonged to her and she brandished a handgun. All three women then left in the Ford Taurus, and the victim followed, said Kitsap County Sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilson.

While traveling north on Big Valley Road behind the Taurus, the victim reported that a gun was pointed out the window at his vehicle. He said he saw flashes from the gun and heard shots fired, Wilson said.

At that point the victim stopped following the Taurus, but he later was able to provide deputies with a detailed description of the suspects and the vehicle.

On Friday, deputies responded to a complaint of an abandoned vehicle in a heavily wooded area near the 23000 block of Big Valley Road. The vehicle, a 1994 Ford Taurus, was the same vehicle from the burglary reported the day prior. The car was impounded as evidence.

As the investigation continued, one of the two women suspects was arrested about 9:20 a.m. Saturday at a home in the 1200 block of Fifth Street in Bremerton. The 26-year-old woman was booked into Kitsap County jail for investigation of first-degree burglary and possession of stolen property. Bail was set at $100,000.

Detectives then executed a search warrant at another Bremerton home in the 500 block of South Hartford Avenue. Five people were at the home, but one of them -- believed to be the woman who drove the Taurus -- refused to come out.

Knowing that this suspect was armed, sheriff's investigators brought in a SWAT Team. At that point, the suspect walked out of the house and was taken into custody at around 9:40 p.m. Saturday without further incident, Wilson said.

The 32-year-old woman was booked into jail for investigation of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and first-degree burglary. Bail was set at $100,000.

One of the other four occupants of the Hartford Avenue residence, a 31-year-old Bremerton woman, was also arrested and booked into jail for investigation of rendering criminal assistance and for two outstanding arrest warrants. Her bail was set at $57,500.